King Pong: Malden man among top table tennis players in Northeast

When it comes to the local table tennis circuit, Yin Wang is the undisputed king of Ping – Ping Pong, that is.

By Christopher Hurley

When it comes to the local table tennis circuit, Yin Wang is the undisputed king of Ping – Ping Pong, that is.

For the seventh straight year, the Rosemont Street resident has remained at the top of his game successfully defending his table tennis title at the 2007 Bay State Games July 14. A five-time Scholastic champion, this marks the second consecutive year that Wang has defended his coveted title in the Men’s Open division, taking home another gold medal for his crowded trophy case.

The 5-foot-5, 140-pound Wang went undefeated in seven matches at this year’s games, including big matches against Michael Lazarus, Jesse Purvis, Harry Vu, Siddharth Gore, Jasper Wong (twice) and Praveen Patnaik, to take home the gold.

“It feels good,” said Wang, 21. “I won the previous year in the open, as well, and the years before when I was under 18 in the Scholastic division. This year the competition wasn’t as serious as it was the previous years, but it’s still fun to take home the gold and get a jacket.”

It was a short drive from his Rosemont Street home to the Boston Table Tennis Center, which is located just off of Mystic Avenue in Medford. The club has become a nice retreat for the table tennis protégé to master his craft.

“That’s the club where I usually go to play,” Wang said. “It is kind of like a home court advantage for me. It definitely helps. You’re very familiar with the environment, and it’s very friendly, very homey to play in.”

When he wasn’t in the heat of battle, Wang and the rest of his family could be found cheering on their father, Dongxue, from the sidelines. The 53-year-old showed he still had some game competing in the Masters division July 15.

“That was [my father’s] first Bay State Games ever,” Wang said. “We all cheered for him.”

Although the elder Wang went winless in three matches against Donald Hayes, Slawomir Marczak and Xiaochun Zhang, his love for the sport still was evident.

“He didn’t win but he had fun though, I think,” Wang said. “He was very excited about the tournament. I think he would have liked to have done a little better, but I think overall we enjoyed our time that day.

“He was the one who got me into Ping Pong when I was little,” Wang added. “He started coaching me from the beginning. He was so into the sport, he loves it even more than I do, I think. He’s such an enthusiastic player.”

Yin Wang’s fascination with table tennis began at an early age after first picking up the paddle at the age of 8 while living in his homeland of China. According to Wang, table tennis overseas is looked upon much like baseball is in the United States.

“Table tennis in China is the national sport,” Wang said. “It’s very popular. Almost everybody who is in China plays Ping Pong at some level. China has been the most dominant country in the sport for over a decade. It definitely gives you a leg up.”

It became something of a family pastime, and Wang’s father, Dongxue, began teaching his son the tricks of the trade. Apparently the home schooling paid off. By the time Wang and his family arrived in the United States in 1994, he was already quite adept at the sport - a credit to his family upbringing.

“My family is pretty big on Ping Pong, starting from my grandfather,” Wang said. “It is kind of like a family sport, however, I did train in my city’s youth team. That was more professional training that I received in China, which got me the fundamentals that I needed to basically grow as an athlete.”

Now 13-years later, Wang is enjoying the fruits of his labor.

According to Alex Landsman, vice-president of the Boston Table Tennis Center, it didn’t take long for Yin Wang to assert himself at the club at the tender age of 10.

“I think I lost to him my first tournament playing against him,” said Landsman, 46. “He didn’t speak a word of English, and he yelled a lot, but he was just a little kid. I befriended him over the year, and next year I played him and beat him, because he couldn’t feel competitive against me. But he’s improved since then.

“For a while he was among the top in the country in his age group, among the top five, but instead of pursuing table tennis, he decided to pursue academics and now he’s in college,” Landsman said.

Although many polls currently list the Malden resident among the top five players in the Northeast, Wang has kept his success in proper perspective. He’ll enter his third year as a student at RPI this fall, keeping his priorities in order.

“I just want to keep enjoying it like I always have,” Wang said. “School is still my number one priority for me, so I just want to keep up that and really just practice as much as I can at school.”

Wang has also been a stabilizing influence on Engineers (NCTTA) National Collegiate Table Tennis Association team. The nationwide program currently has 150 member schools enrolled. Wang’s team finished fourth overall in national competition for the past two years.

“It’s been pretty exciting and a lot of fun,” said Wang. “I enjoy playing in the NCTTA organization. We have regional tournaments every year. It brings a lot of team unity when you have to play with your peers for a title. I think that’s the most interesting thing for me, table-tennis-wise, right now.”

So what’s the secret to success in table tennis? According to Wang, it’s practice, practice, practice.

“It’s really no different than any other sport,” he said. “It’s about dedication, the love of the sport and just hard work. There is really no way of getting around it. The more you practice the better you’ll get.”

And for Yin Wang, Ping Pong’s been nothing but a smashing success.

Christopher Hurley of the Malder (Mass.) Observer can be reached at churley@cnc.com.